Conveying systems are often employed to convey articles through a series of working stations. In certain conveyor systems, a number of different articles are separately stacked in a series of individual dispensers mounted along a moving conveyor. Through operation of a computer program, individual articles are selectively dispensed from the dispensers onto the moving conveyor, and the articles are then conveyed to a location where they can be packaged for shipment to the customer.
Typically, the articles are generally rectangular and include a pair of relatively wide flat face surfaces and an outer peripheral edge defined by relatively narrow individual side surfaces. The articles are fed by the dispensers onto the conveyor such that the face surface of each article contacts the conveyor. Since the articles are typically dropped onto the conveyor, the wider face surface provides stable support for the article on the conveyor. Downstream from the dispensers, the individual articles are typically assembled into a stack, with each individual article resting on one of its side surfaces as the stack of articles is assembled. Therefore, each of the articles must be reoriented from its face surface to one of its side surfaces before the stack can be assembled.
In the past, stationary guide members were positioned in relation to the moving conveyor such that the stationary guide members caused the article to be reoriented onto one of its side surfaces. However, conveying systems in which stationary guide members reorient the article entail certain drawbacks. For example, when the article slides along the stationary guide members, the guide members can wear off printing on the article and can mar or scrape the surface of the article.